BEIJING — China on Nov 23 confirmed a “brief” talk between Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Kuala Lumpur during the East Asia Summit.

“Premier Li and Prime Minister Abe had a brief conversation on the sidelines of a series of leaders’ meetings on East Asian cooperation in Kuala Lumpur,” said the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei in a press release.

The Premier said the two countries had witnessed improvement of ties recently, adding that the improved momentum is still fragile, according to Hong.

“Whether China-Japan ties continue to improve depends on whether Japan can seriously honor its commitment,” the Premier was quoted as saying.

He said Japan should do more to contribute to cementing mutual understanding and improving ties in order to enable improvement and growth of ties, according to the spokesperson.